Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1887-04-28
DOES NOT SUIT AT ALL,
susnension of the New Long and
short Haul Law Demanded by
Both East and West.
,yuments Presented by Railroad At
torneys Before the Interstate
Commission.

kA WASHINGTON, April 22.-The Interstate
,r,msrce commission received a tele-
IAN to-day from G. NJ WICKER, repre-
ting the board of trade and merchants
"a, chicago. announcing wish TO be
AID upon the traascontlnentsl question
81 asking that the decision of the com
N sion be withheld until arguments can
ia submitted. eve are" the telegram
o.. sin favor of a conditional sUspen-
b. of long and short haul clause on
HI acidc coast traffic, provided rates from
81 great lakes and the Mississippi valley
IN made proportionately less than from
in Atlantic seaboard, as has been the
sBse in the past. We would also pray
Z a. YOU exercise the power given you In
sction 4, of prescribing the extent to
xbjeh the carriers may be relieved so as
Il protect the intermediate territory now
!, Guided from direct commercial rela-
Ron with the east by ruling that the in
trmediate rates shall in no case be more
An SO per cent. higher than the through
b."
81 The following telegram from San Fran
4 SEQ was also received by the commission;
4Dsfer action on section 4 until receipt of
81 emorial from chamber of commerce
~ leading merchants and manufactures
q this city mailed you to-day. In them
d be found potent arguments against
spension." This is signed by w. I.
ID arrett president of Manufacturers as
Notation of California and seven firms
frming committee of merchants and
manufacturers of California.
M w. T. Merry, president of the chamber
III commerce of San Francisco, tele-
Qraphs a series of resolutions adopted by
81 al body, f7yoring the exception OF
III ch industries and special cases as abso-
81 sly require rapid transit" from the
cperstion of section T.
SOUTHERN PACIFIC,
# Charles H. Z weed of New York, address
ID ID the commission in behalf of the
prayer of the Southern Pacific railroad
D. suspension of the forth section of
D. law in it's behalf. He presented a
formal pertition which sets forth that the
Southern Pacific is in competition for
b. transportation of through passengers
HID freight with the Canadian Pacific,
D. Pacific Mail Steamship company,
clippers and tramp steamers, and that
b. business is done under Substantially
dissimilar condition from those under
Fhich local transportation Ia conducted.
9he petitioner and other transcOntin
81 com panies have caused to be pre-
pared two tariffs for transcontinenta
Business, one based upon the assumption
Eat the fourth section of the Interstate
commerce act does. and the other that it
does not apply to cases in which compel
D. agencies enter and which are not ans
VI Iablo to the inter-stat commerce law.
H. case the petitioner adhered to the first
banned schedule the result would be the
20 OF the whole or the greater part of the
Through business.
N The effect of putting this schedule in
Operation has been to reduce the through
Business by at least 80 per cent, and the
smount now being done is very incon-
Siderable. On the other hand, if the
fates for intermediate local traffic should
D. reduced to rates not greater than
Those requisite to enable the petitioner
T. do any considerable part of the
Through business the whole earnings of
tha roads operated by the petitioner
8ould be inadequate to the payment of
their fixed charges. While the petitioner
Believes that the circumstances and con
Hltons governing the through business
Pr substantially dissimilar from those
|slated to the local traffic, still the penal
pes prescribed are so stringent and sew
tfe that The petitioner has felt authorized
without the assent of the commission to
u lt IN force such tariffs as are requisite
~ the retention of any considerable por-
fIon OF tho through traffic, and it there
%oFe inYokes the action of the commits
sfion 10 that behalf and prays Authority to
stAarge less for longer than for shorter
sH'tance' OF transportation of passengers
PM property.
LOST ITS TRAFFIC.
n A. I Britton, attorney of the Atchison,
II opeka . Santa Fe railroad, read a petit
Il non setting forth that the road and its
connections were engaged in transcon-
Il mental traffic. In an honest ondeavor
n comply with the law it had put in OPP
A auon new schedules, which, while they
4 --''ea-ed the through rates, largely re-
~-sed the rates TO intermediate points.
i1s average reductions were from TO 80
P7' cent according to the class of freight
AIRED. Whit this had not resulted in
increasing the way traffic it had entirely
-7',ro!ed the through traffic. For two
to'A' the road had not received any
lo1Sh west-bound freight and only
-o1 east bound as imperatively required
Immediate transmission. To illustrate,
-s company formerly hauled on an ay-
a5s Ivy cars of oil, but now contracts
'7'e beng made for this traffic by sea
.,e''us the entire coming year. The
payer OF the petition was similar TO that
. lae Southern Pacific.
zen VIM. W. Belknap. representing
y y, Louis San Francisco road, pre-
--.gl petition setting forth the cir
~. ---'.ahces influencing that comp any's
.olsa traffic, and asked that the fourth
s1s5- ~ the act be suspended. James
4 sl-a1u' assistant general manger of the
-.-lson' Topeka & Santa Fe road. was
Z ana inreply to inquiries by coun-
+. animated under oath the matters
''sh 10 the petition mentioned above.
80 informed that since the new rates
= mo effect the steamships had rails
sso-st' a'es materially, keeping Just
- below those of the railroads 10
i me .ls trade The company asked TO
- f''esa in the position where IL could
.at competition of the o;;--.rs
.-"9lt further -efara-c. o.. Al